The purchase or sale of real estate is a very complex transaction whether involving a commercial or residential property. Such transactions typically involve a large sum of money and many different variables that must be taken into consideration prior to closing. For most people a real estate transaction can be one of the most important transactions in their life. Based on the complexity and nature of real estate transactions buyers and sellers typically utilize real estate agents to manage many of the details of the transaction and ultimately close the sale of the real estate. As such, it is important that the buyer or seller utilize an agent which is experienced with the type of real estate involved in the transaction as well as the many details involved. It is also very important that the real estate agent be able to effectively communicate and develop a good relationship with their client such that the client may be effectively served.
With the need for buyers and sellers to have an experienced real estate agent representing them in the real estate transactions, buyers and sellers often use referrals to select a particular real estate agent. By utilizing a referral, a buyer or seller can be somewhat assured that they are utilizing a reputable agent based on the relationship of the buyer/seller with the referring entity. This helps alleviate the uncertainty factor in the mind of the buyer/seller when selecting a real estate agent at random. Such referrals may be provided through a personal contact or a reputable company which provides real estate agent referrals.
Many companies that provide real estate referrals utilize methods and systems which help match a buyer/seller with a real estate agent. An example of one type of referral system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,883,002 to Faudman. Faudman describes a system and process which maintains a database of MLS properties for sale. Real estate agents subscribe to the system and are included into the database with their information. Prospective buyers or sellers then enter the system by submitting a commitment form with personal information and the type of property involved. Upon entering the system, the subscribing real estate agents may then view the information of prospective buyers and sellers and post properties for sale.
Another type of system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2004/0088172 to Baglioni. Baglioni describes a method and apparatus for real estate agent selection. The method and apparatus described by Baglioni ranks real estate agents based on performance and provides a referral of the highest ranking real estate agent to potential clients. The performance of the real estate agents is determined based on earnings over a designated time period. If the customer is dissatisfied with the referred real estate agent, feedback from the customer may be used to reevaluate the ranking of the referred agent.
While there are various systems and methods currently known for providing referrals, particularly real estate referrals, such systems and methods fail to take into consideration the performance of the real estate agents with respect to the many details of specific properties and the transactions associated therewith. As such, there is a need in the art for a system and method which provides an agent referral for real estate transactions that takes into account the specific details for each real estate transaction.